Feelings of unworthiness often hinder us from achieving
happiness and our full potential. Practicing mindfulness can
help us alleviate insecurities by learning self-acceptance
through a meditation called the RAIN of Self-Compassion.
It begins by discovering how to be true to yourself.
Illustrations by Michael Woloschinow
When I was in college, I went off to the mountains
for a weekend of hiking with an older, wiser friend
of twenty-two. After setting up our tent, we sat by
a stream, watching the water swirl around rocks,
talking about our lives. At one point she described
how she was learning to be “her own best friend.”
A wave of sadness came over me, and I broke down
sobbing. I was the furthest thing from my own best
friend. I was continually harassed by a n inner judge
who was merciless, nit-picking, demanding, always
on the job. My guiding assumption was, “Something
is fundamentally wrong with me,” as I struggled to
control and fix what felt like a basically flawed self.
Over the last several decades, through my work
with tens of thousands of clients and meditation
students, I’ve come to see the pain of perceived
deficiency as epidemic. It’s like we’re in a trance that
causes us to see ourselves as unworthy. Yet, I have
seen in my own life, and with countless others, that
we can awaken from this trance through practicing
mindfulness and self-compassion. We can come to
trust the goodness and purity of our hearts. →
By Tara Brach
in practice
insight
August 2014 mindful 71